In offshore floating production operations, a pipe riser provides a conduit for producing a fluid from a well, drilled in the ocean floor, to an oil and/or gas production facility at the ocean surface. Alternatively, a pipe riser may provide a conduit for exporting fluid from an offshore facility to the seafloor for further transport via an underwater pipeline to other locations. The static and dynamic load applied to each threaded connector in a pipe riser may be substantial, especially in water depths of three thousand feet or more. Furthermore, multiple seals are required to prevent escape of inner fluids or ingress of external fluids. The production pipe riser is connected at its lower end to a subsea production wellhead and at its upper end to a floating production vessel equipped to handle, store, separate or treat the well production fluid in a manner well known to the art. Alternatively, the pipe riser may be connected at its upper end to a floating production vessel and at its lower end to a subsea pipeline for export of fluids from the floating production vessel or offshore platform. The weight of the pipe riser and the production fluid contained therein may be supported by large tensioners located on the floating vessel. The tensioners also compensate for movement of the anchored vessel due to the action of wind, waves, tides, etc.
The production pipe risers that are supported from a floating facility may be unsupported against lateral movement which is caused by the lateral movement of the floating facility on the ocean surface. Such movement may cause tensile and bending stresses resulting in sea water outside the pipe riser attacking the threaded portion of the connector, or production fluid under pressure within the pipe riser escaping through a damaged connector to contaminate the ocean in the vicinity.